U.S. and Mexican immigration officials might have some explaining to do after an elderly disabled man was returned to Mexico without notifying Mexican officials to receive him. According to a report from SignOnSanDiego.com, 77-year-old Miguel Cervantes Gallegos was reported lost for 11 days last month and was apparently repatriated to Mexico after trying to enter the U.S. illegally through a checkpoint. A set of guidelines between both countries lists the steps to be taken for people with disabilities yet immigration authorities didn’t have exact records on Gallegos:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials confirmed that they detained a man in his 70s [on February 10th] and returned him to Mexico about 5:30 p.m. The man gave officers a different name, agency spokesman Vince Bond said, but it was noted that he had “leg problems.”
If that man was Cervantes, his family is wondering why there was no attention given to his condition as he was being returned...
No one had any record of Cervantes, not even Mexican immigration officials. According to the National Immigration Institute, an officer is stationed at the San Ysidro turnstile 24 hours a day.
Last year, a mentally disabled U.S. citizen spent nearly three months missing after was accidently deported to Mexico. As we mentioned a few days ago, attorneys for the man filed a lawsuit against several parties including the Department of Homeland Security.
Sources- SignOnSanDiego.com, The Latin Americanist, Associated Press
Image- USA TODAY (San Ysidro border crossing)
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